Now, they were leaning against the building's wall, observing five black-robed individuals who had also frozen in place because of them. No one was supposed to be here, and if there were, they would have been informed by the two guards.
Their confusion was answered when the figure in front of them tossed a severed head toward them—the head of one of the guards.
"There's no need to look for the second one. His body no longer exists," he said, making their anger boil.
Orange Hair wanted to step forward and confront him but was stopped.
"Relax, your turn will come. As for these people, I'll handle them."
The five black-robed individuals charged forward, swords in hand, now enveloped in dark mana. Their eyes glowed red—a sign that they had turned into demons.
"You will pay for this!"
"Don't think you can escape!"
He kept walking casually as they ran toward him, dodging the first sword swing before grabbing its wielder's face and slamming him into the wall with such force that it shattered, producing a deafening sound that made the others falter.
It was common knowledge that those who became demons grew much stronger. They weren't ordinary soldiers.
But seeing their comrade die in a single attack made their courage waver.
"W-who are you!?"
"Does it matter to people who are about to die?" he replied, catching the second sword strike, twisting the attacker's arm behind his back, and then driving his fist into their chest—his hand piercing straight through to the back, clutching a still-beating heart before crushing it into an unrecognizable mess.
The remaining three instinctively stepped back.
They realized they weren't a match for the figure before them.
Demon or human, there was no way to defeat this faceless monster.
One of them pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground, creating a thick cloud of smoke, allowing them to escape—something he deliberately allowed, which made the Orange Hair curious.
"Why did you let them run?" he asked.
"To create chaos. From there, we take the opportunity to dismantle their plans," he answered briefly before following the three, Orange Hair trailing behind.
"Why not just kill them all? You have the power to do so," he asked again.
The answer that followed made Orange Hair's hair stand on end—because not just anyone could say such words. Only those who stood at the pinnacle of the world could.
"So I don't get bored."
Meanwhile, the leader, who thought everything would go smoothly, was shocked to see three of his subordinates running in terror, constantly glancing back as if being chased by something. They even crashed into a few others, startling them, as no one was supposed to be able to stand against them except for the heroes and high-ranking adventurers, who were currently busy evacuating civilians.
"Master! Master!" One of them, leading the group, stumbled and crawled forward. "We have a huge problem!"
"What problem?" he asked, barely suppressing his anger at his cowardly subordinates. "What could possibly be a problem for us, who have become demons?"
"A-a monster!"
"A monster?"
"We don't know what he is," another one quickly added. "He looks human, but his face is covered by… something. We don't know what. But the most terrifying thing is his strength! He killed two of us in a single attack!"
The other followers gasped in shock.
They were as strong as high-ranking adventurers. There was no way anything could threaten their lives in this capital. Even if something could, it shouldn't be able to do so in just one strike. Only demons should have that kind of power.
"That's impossible! You've received demon hearts and dark mana!" the leader scoffed in disbelief.
"We're not lying! He's right behind us!"
They turned to look, but there was no one there.
"I'm right here, you idiot."
The leader spun around, startled to find the very figure they were speaking of standing so close—without him noticing at all. His power was on par with the heroes, yet he hadn't detected a single presence. There wasn't even a trace of mana.
That was when he recalled reports from informants about a mysterious figure who fought against the Grand Mage. A faceless being with strange powers who also battled Burning Star at the same time.
And now, Burning Star was standing beside him.
Did that mean the Grand Mage had lost?
Someone as extraordinary as him? Even after using forbidden magic?
Even if he used the full power of the demon race, the leader wasn't sure he could defeat the Grand Mage without suffering serious injuries. Yet, the man before him was completely unharmed, looking so calm—not at all like someone who had just fought one of the continent's strongest beings.
However, he was an outsider.
Most likely, he was not aligned with humans.
Who in this world wouldn't want great power and to submit under the Demon King?
The leader grinned widely and said, "Wait, before you do anything, I just want to thank you for dealing with that old mage for us. And for that, I'd like to propose something."
"Oh? What is it?"
His grin widened. "As you may have heard, we are the followers of the Demon King—the one true ruler who will conquer this world and bring us along with him. As someone directly under his command, I can recommend you to become one of the Demon King's elite warriors. Think about it—you could have a far better life than the one you've been living. You could sit back, rule over the world, do whatever you want! A paradise!"
The leader expected him to be intrigued, even captivated. But instead, he burst into loud laughter.
"The Demon King… giving me all of that?"
The leader nodded repeatedly. "Of course! You've already proven yourself by defeating the old mage. All you need to do now is help us revive him! Then, together, we can conquer the world!"
He had expected this.
There was no way anyone would refuse such an extraordinary offer. Only those naive heroes—
"You're joking?"
"What?" he blurted out, unable to believe his ears.
"Why would I ask the Demon King for something I can take for myself?"
That made the others laugh together, as if he had just told a ridiculous joke.
Meanwhile, Orange Hair tensed up, cursing the fools around them in his heart.
"I know you're strong, but defeating the Demon King? That's impossible! Even the heroes of the past could only seal him! What can someone like you do against him?" the leader sneered. "I thought you had at least some intelligence—unlike those naive fools in the capital who want to keep living in a lie. Who would've thought you're just another idiot?"
He reached forward, grabbing the leader's left hand. At first, the leader was confused—until he screamed in agony as his hand was severed effortlessly. He fell to his knees, clutching his wound to stop the blood from pouring out.
"Oh, my bad—I really am an idiot."